It’s Go Time! … Sabres at Rangers

Ya boys have won one in a row as they play the third of a four-game homestand and hit the 20-game mark in this 48-game Bettmaned season.

By the time this homestand is done, the Rangers will have played 14 of their 24 home games, meaning they will play 17 of their final 27 on the road.

Looks like the same lineup that won on Thursday, which means Steve Eminger on defense, Stu Bickel up front, Henrik Lundqvist in goal, Arron Asham still out injured, and Matt Gilroy prucha’d.

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Reminders:

Don’t forget to vote for the Three Rangers Stars over there on the left <———— and to follow me on tweeter @RangersReport.

Looks like a rough schedule for me this upcoming stuff, with more hoops, a few hockey games and a couple of days of corporate, ahem, stuff. So could be another week without a Live Chat. Dammit.

Also, got the rest of the season wide open for volunteers to do the Three Rangers Stars for my next-day game reviews. So if anybody wants to volunteer to do a game, or a whole bunch of games, please email me at rcarpini@lohud.com … and know that I will be very disappointed if some of our regulars don’t sign up.

Incidentally, the basketball game I did this afternoon had the weirdest, wackiest ending I have ever seen, and it has already gone nation-wide viral, will be on ESPN and Deadspin and everywhere in between.

Suffice it to say the QB from the state football championship made a buzzer beater, but that both teams thought they had won, and both celebrated the championship in simultaneous dogpiles.

Just to be contrary, I could point out that Pavelski has two points in the last eight games in which Kennedy has been in the Sharks line-up and that 37% of his career points have come on the PP, which presumably does feature more Thornton, Marleau et al…

Again, Eddie, not suggesting Pavelski isn’t or wouldn’t be a good player. Merely floating the theory that he could be hump-busting for 10 goals, 35 points three years into his lucrative seven-year UFA deal.

I think a meteor landing on his head puts him on IR with “soreness” and the meteor escapes a hearing with Shanahan because it wasn’t a repeat offender and it was the head wasn’t the principal point of contact.

My favorite moment involving the Sabres came in the double overtime game at MSG. A particularly unruly Buffalo Baby Buffaloes fan was causing trouble and ended up getting tossed by security. On the way out, some equally plastered Rangers fan told him to “go home on your tractor.”

Not sure if it is PC to ask on here, and forgive me if it isn;t….been trying like heck to get 4 seats for my kids. Next to impossible, absent a third mortgage. If anyone has them, and can’t go I’d be interested. It is criminal to have to pay $500 to take the kids. Though I am sure that isn’t news to anyone here. Thanks.

At the same Devils-Sabres game I puked at a couple of years ago, there was a Sabres “fan” sat behind me who was ripping on Drew Stafford every time he touched the puck. Only problem was that he wasn’t in the line-up, so it was the older, differently-numbered, significantly more left-shooting Rob Niedermayer that was touching the puck.

Absolutely correct Eric. I have been saying this since the Boston game and Carp has been saying it since this summer. They are not hard to play against at all. Pyatt has some offensive upside but he is not nasty at all. Asham is another in a long line of goon retreads who is as old and broken down as Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. We are 20 games in and Boyle, Asham, Powe, and Halpern have 2 points between the four of them.

Anyone remember when I was talking about that one moment last year where something happened and it caused the team to wake up and get hot? (against SJ?) I’m praying this was the incident that sparks them the rest of the way.

Two things: how does a guy as great as Hank suck so bad when he’s gotta use the stick when he’s out of the net; and can someone whose played or coached or even sat on really good seat please explain what torts sees that makes him keep putting richie on the pp?

I was waiting for someone to remark about the 2 goals. No it’s not enough once you give up a shortie. The ranger power play, which is usually impotent, cannot be counted on to make opposing teams pay for dirty play.

Once again, my watching the game affects the outcome. I went and walked the dog after Richards was felled (although I continued to listen to the radio broadcast on my phone). Boom! two goals. Got back inside just in time to see replays of the Gerbe shorthander (my phone was about two minutes behind the actual action, so I hadn’t heard it yet).

Just prior to the 2 PPGs I was going to make a joke about Sather needing to fire Tony Sparano as OC….and when Nash went down in the crease, all I could think of was Sanchez running into Moore’s butt and fumbling. It aint easy being green, I tell ya.

Let me get this straight. We go down 2 men- can’t be a 4 on 2 in OT, so Sabres get to put extra (5th) man on ice, to make it a 5 on 3. So, that being said, their man advantage can end up being significantly longer than the original length of the penalty, should there be a long time before a whistle. Interesting, don’t recall seeing this before. Kind of unfair, no? At least with the coincidental penalties, neither team is at a disadvantage (manpower-wise), when waiting for a whistle after initial penalty time expires.

A few observations from a game that wasn’t very exciting until the third period:

1) I left after OT. I really had no desire to watch another Human Puck Race…er…I mean BCATHE…

2) Steve Ott got thrown out of the faceoff circle twice consecutively in the first period. He’s probably the most aggressive guy in the faceoff circles in all of the NHL. If you don’t believe me, you could check out the game stats on NHL.com…

3) Nash’s 1st penalty wasn’t really a penalty.

4) When Richards went down, my fanship flashed before my eyes. Imagine if that was a career ending concussion? And, we were stuck with the cap hit for the next decade? This is why it is very important that the Rangers just cut ties with Richards this summer. You aren’t getting enough out of him to warrant that risk.

5) Anybody else notice that the Rangers had too many men on the ice in OT because Nash came out of the box when his penalty ended. It was a good 30 seconds and I’m sure the refs hadn’t noticed… The guy that opened the penalty box is a dope and should have realized it was OT…

1) Nash is still a monster
2) Staal is way back
3) McD not looking so good
4) Richards hurt, PP comes through. Richards back, PP looks like Carcillo again. Glad he’s not hurt.
5) Thought Nash was gonna bash his face into the ice on the sliding block
6) Loved Cally faking the patented shoulder dip and then the deke
7) Kaleta is a Cooke…another guy that probably should be out of the league by now

The OT rules are seriously insanity. How do they ever expect to get new fans? 4-on-4 unless a penalty then 4-on-3 and if the PK team takes another penalty then 5-on-3 and then the first guy leaves the box then 5-on-4 until the first whistle then 4-on-3 until the end of the penalty at which point 4-on-4.

Don’t be surprised if Richards missed time. His last season with Dallas he missed time w a concussion that seemed to have people weary of him and his recovery. His head definitely took a nice shot when he went into the boards